Parent volunteers helped erect two bike parking shelters at a north Portland school on Sunday.(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Did you know that you can get a few volunteers together and build a covered bike parking shelter at any Portland Public School?

We wrote about the City of Portland’s school bike shelter program back in 2012. Since then the shelters have popped up at schools all over the city. On Sunday I got the chance to help build one myself at (the newly designated) Ockley Green Middle School in north Portland. It was a fantastic way to create better bike parking at my kids’ school and spend some time with other parents.

In some ways, bike parking shelters do for schools what intersection repair projects do for neighborhoods: The thing you make together is the icing on the community-building cake.(more…)

The Lloyd Cycle Station is open for business.(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

A key piece of the decades-long vision for the Lloyd District came into focus this morning when the Lloyd Cycle Station – and its 600 secure bike parking spaces – opened to the public.

We shared the lowdown on the the Cycle Station earlier this month and today I attended the grand opening. To refresh your memory this facility is part of the Hassalo on Eighth development that has arisen on a former surface parking lot on the 700 block of NE Multnomah. There are three new buildings in this development and they all strongly encourage a low-car lifestyle among their tenants. Along with an adjacent MAX light rail line and one of Portland’s best protected bike lanes (on NE Multnomah), Hassalo residents now have their choice of 1,200 bike parking spaces. Compare that to just 328 auto parking spaces and you can see why car ownership is only optional here.(more…)

Inside the Lloyd Cycle Station, where you can catch a game on the tube while you chill after a ride.(Photos: M.Andersen/BikePortland unless noted)

Generally speaking, Portland does bike parking better than any city in North America. And one of the continent’s biggest bike parking projects is about to open in the middle of it.

The Lloyd Cycle Station, which opens to the public next month in the basement of the Lloyd 700 Building at 700 NE Multnomah Street, will offer half of the record-breaking 1,200 indoor bike parking spaces constructed as part of Hassalo on Eighth in the Lloyd District. But unlike most residential bike parking projects, this facility will also be open to people who work or shop in the area.

Charles Reneau and the bike parking area he made happen.(Photos: J. Maus/BikePortland)

Making a place more welcoming to bicycle riders often starts with parking. It’s a basic need for all vehicle users. In the central city you can usually find a staple rack or something else to lock up to; but head out into Portland’s neighborhoods, beyond the main commercial districts, and it’s another story.

Take the Oregon Buddhist Temple for example. Since their attractive building on Southeast 34th just south of Powell Boulevard opened in 1966, members have had no place to park a bicycle. That fact bothered temple member Charles Reneau, so when he got a seat on the board he decided to do something about.(more…)

Suburban parking lots often fail horribly at bike parking — not because it’s expensive but simply because developers weren’t thinking about it.

But as hundreds of Portland retailers can testify, decent bike parking is a big part of making a business district bike-friendly. It’s a key part of making it feel natural and normal to go out for an errand, a beer, a meeting, a movie or a daycare dropoff on a bicycle.